Can South Asia end poverty in a generation? More inclusive growth and faster human development are key.

• Author: Devarajan, Shantayanan
• Position: Goal 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger

For the first time in its long history, the people of South Asia have the chance of sharing in a thriving environment on fair terms. The countries of the region are enjoying unprecedented economic growth, in most cases exceeding 5 per cent a year for over a decade. Today, South Asia is the world's second fastest growing region, with economic growth contributing to an impressive reduction in poverty. During the 1990s, India, Bangladesh and Nepal lowered their poverty rates by 7, 9 and 11 percentage points, respectively; Pakistan's rate declined by 5 per cent in the first half of this decade; and the poverty rate in Sri Lanka's western province, where growth has been concentrated, declined by half.

The unprecedented economic growth and poverty reduction raise the possibility of ending poverty within a generation in the region with the world's largest concentration of poor people. This means a reduction in poverty rates to single digits and the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in health and education--universal primary education, gender parity in primary and secondary education, two-thirds reduction in child mortality and three-quarters reduction in maternal mortality. With 400 million people in abject poverty and violent conflicts in Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and until recently Nepal, as well as widespread ill-health and illiteracy, especially in northern India and Pakistan--the challenge is daunting.

How then do we dare to suggest this possibility? We do so because growth is creating the political space for much needed policy and institutional reforms to accelerate growth further and tackle South Asia's long-standing problems of social and economic exclusion, illiteracy, ill-health, conflict, corruption and confrontational politics. Some of these problems persist because of political resistance to reforms, even those that benefit the poor, who lack political voice. South Asia is seeing an increase in information and advocacy campaigns to raise the political voice of the poor. At the same time, economic growth is catalyzing the political will to redistribute gains and compensate fairly those who lose out in the reform process.

In some countries, growth is generating the fiscal resources to address these problems--not just new money but also the will to render existing public expenditures more effectively. Having tasted the fruits of economic reforms, South Asians are lobbying for a strong but deft policy hand that can...